"Who's that playing out there?" Bo Diddley asked the crowd on a sunny day in New Orleans, LA. Suddenly, four-year-old Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews was lifted into the air and over the crowd to perform onstage with the famous musician. This experience changed his life.
Drums
Published in 2010
Photographs and simple text provide an introduction to drums, explaining what they look like, how they sound, where they come from, and how they are played.
Trumpets
Published in 2010
Photographs and simple text provide an introduction to trumpets, explaining what they look like, how they sound, where they come from, and how they are played.
Trombone Shorty
Published in 2015
Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.
The 5 O'clock Band
Published in 2018
After letting his band down by missing rehearsal, Shorty has some serious questions about what it means to be a leader so he hits the New Orleans streets to find some answers.
Birth of the Cool
How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound
Published in 2019
Explores the childhood and early career of the noted jazz trumpeter who gained fame performing at the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1955.
Benny Goodman & Teddy Wilson
Taking the Stage As the First Black-and-white Jazz Band in History
Published in 2014
Celebrates the 1936 debut of the Benny Goodman quartet with Teddy Wilson in Chicago, considered to be the first widely seen integrated jazz performance.
Swing Sisters
The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm
Published in 2015
The story of a group of African American orphans who played in their school's all-girl swing band and after leaving school made "it to the big-time in an era when integrated musical groups were practically unheard of. It wasn't always easy, and it wasn't always safe, but the talented Sweethearts of Rhythm ultimately became an international sensation"--Amazon.com.
Jazz on a Saturday Night
Published in 2007
Learn about this popular music form and hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD.
Stompin' at the Savoy
How Chick Webb Became the King of Drums
Published in 2021
"Though a disability stunted his growth and left him with a hunched back, William Henry "Chick" Webb did not let that get in the way of his musical pursuits. Even as a young child, Chick saw the world as one big drum, pounding out rhythms on everything from stair railings to pots and pans. His love of percussion brought him to the big time as an influential big band leader. This picture-book biography details the life of black American jazz drummer Chick Webb, who in the 1930s led one of the big bands of the swing era, earning him the nickname the "King of the Savoy."" -- Amazon.com.
This Jazz Man
Published in 2006
Presents an introduction to jazz music and nine well-known jazz musicians, set to the rhythm of the traditional song, "This Old Man." Includes brief facts about each musician.
Bird & Diz
Published in 2015
Presents a rhythmic tribute to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and their creation of bebop.
The Jazz Fly
Starring the Jazz Bugs, The Jazz Fly, Willie the Worm, Nancy the Gnat, Sammy the Centipede
Published in 2000
While seeking directions to town, a fly picks up the rhythm of the answers he gets from a frog, a hog, a donkey, and a dog, and then uses these sounds to jazz up his band's music.
Hot Jazz Special
Published in 2005
Words and pictures composed to give the reader the feel of jazz music as well as to introduce some of the important jazz musicians of history.
Making Their Voices Heard
The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe
Published in 2020
If I Only Had a Horn
Young Louis Armstrong
Published in 1997
Relates how the famous jazz trumpeter began his musical career, as a poor boy in New Orleans, by singing songs on street corners and playing a battered cornet in a marching band.
Jazz Day
The Making of a Famous Photograph
Published in 2016
When Esquire magazine planned an issue to salute the American jazz scene in 1958, graphic designer Art Kane pitched a crazy idea: how about gathering a group of beloved jazz musicians and photographing them? He didn't own a good camera, didn't know if any musicians would show up, and insisted on setting up the shoot in front of a Harlem brownstone. Could he pull it off? In a captivating collection of poems, Roxane Orgill steps into the frame of Harlem 1958, bringing to life the musicians' mischief and quirks, their memorable style, and the vivacious atmosphere of a Harlem block full of kids on a hot summer's day. Francis Vallejo's vibrant, detailed, and wonderfully expressive paintings do loving justice to the larger-than-life quality of jazz musicians of the era. Includes bios of several of the fifty-seven musicians, an author's note, sources, a bibliography, and a foldout of Art Kane's famous photograph.
Duke Ellington
The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
Published in 1998
A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category.
Josephine
The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
Published in 2014
A portrait of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.
John Coltrane's Giant Steps
Published in 2002
John Coltrane's musical composition is performed by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten.
Mysterious Thelonious
Published in 1997
Matches the tones of the diatonic scale to the values of the color wheel in presenting a portrait of the work of the Afro-American jazz musician and composer of "Mysterioso."
The Cosmo-biography of Sun Ra
The Sound of Joy is Enlightening
Published in 2014
A one-hundredth birthday tribute to the late jazz artist explores his observations about humanity's discriminatory and violent behaviors as well as his efforts to forge world peace through music with the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Published in 2014
"A biography of African American musician Melba Doretta Liston, a virtuoso musician who played the trombone and composed and arranged music for many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century. Includes afterword, discography, and sources"-- Provided by publisher.
Before John Was a Jazz Giant
A Song of John Coltrane
Published in 2008
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.
Jazz Baby
Published in 2007
Jazz Age Josephine
Published in 2012
A tribute to the life of the iconic jazz entertainer depicts her disadvantaged youth in a segregated America, her unique performance talents and the irrepressible sense of style that helped her overcome racial barriers
How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz
Published in 2015
"In this unusual ... picture book that riffs on the language and rhythms of old New Orleans, ... picture book biographer Jonah Winter ... turns his focus to one of America's early jazz heroes"--Amazon.com.
Sonny's Bridge
Jazz Legend Sonny Rollins Finds His Groove
Published in 2019
"Sonny Rollins is one of the most prolific sax players in the history of jazz, but in 1959, at the height of his career, he vanished from the scene. His return to music was an interesting journey - with a long detour on the Williamsburg Bridge. Too loud to practice in his apartment, Rollins played on the New York City landmark for two years among the cacophony of the traffic and the stares of bystanders. Then in 1962, Rollins went back to the studio and recorded arguably his best album to date: The Bridge. Told with a jazz edge to the rhyming text, young readers will be inspired by the genius of this jazz legend." -- Provided by publisher.
